IBM and Alcoa busy after hours

CarolynPritchard

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- IBM shares edged down in Thursday's after-hours trading after Big Blue said the Securities and Exchange Commission may recommend action against it. Shares of Alcoa were busy after the aluminum maker said it swung to a profit in the latest quarter.

IBM
IBM, -0.39%
said after the close that the SEC staff may recommend action against the company for allegedly aiding and abetting accounting misstatements made by retailer Dollar General
DG, +0.51%
in 2000.

Dollar General bought IBM cash registers and point-of-sale equipment. In the transaction that's in question, IBM paid Dollar General $11 million for certain used equipment as part of a sale of IBM replacement gear.

IBM had announced on June 2 an SEC investigation related to its retail equipment unit, but at the time did not name the customer. See full story.

At last check, IBM shares were trading down 58 cents at $92.46.

Also after the bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average component Alcoa
AA, +1.09%
said that it netted a profit for the fourth quarter, aided by aggressive cost management and an 8.6 percent gain in revenue. The Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer reported fourth-quarter net income of $291 million, or 33 cents a share. A year ago, it saw a loss of $223 million, or 26 cents per share. It pegged fourth-quarter income from continuing operations at $340 million, or 39 cents per share. See full story.

Shares of Alcoa were recently down 6 cents at $38.60.

Vital Images
VTAL
cut its full-year 2003 forecast due to lower-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter.

The medical imaging software company said it expects to post fourth-quarter revenue between $5.1 million and $5.4 million. The company sees results ranging from a profit of a penny per share to a loss of 4 cents a share. For the year, Vital Images sees sales of $26.7 million to $27 million and earnings of 65 to 70 cents a share.

Separately, the company said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire HInnovation, a privately-held provider of software that lets physicians see medical imaging securely over the Internet. Terms of the deal include a $12 million initial payment to HInnovation and $6 million in contingent milestone payments.

Shares of Vital Images tumbled 22.8 percent to change hands for $14.66 in late dealings.

MedImmune
MEDI, +1.41%
said that its chief financial officer, Gregory S. Patrick, has left the company. The biotech firm didn't give a reason for the departure. MedImmune said finance executive Lota S. Zoth will be the acting chief financial officer while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Shares of MedImmune fell 4.6 percent to $22.85 in late trade.

ATS Medical
ATSI
said that its expects to post a 50 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales. The mechanical heart-valve maker said it expects to report fourth-quarter sales of $5.6 million vs. $3.7 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002. For the full year, ATS sees sales of $18.5 million compared with $13.3 million the year before. ATS also said it expects to record a $4.4 million charge for the write-down of inventories.

Shares of ATS rose 11.2 percent in after-hours trade, to $5.45.

Vasomedical
VASO, -17.70%
shares more than doubled in late trading Thursday after the company said a study published in the December issue of Cardiology magazine found that about 75 percent of heart patients were helped by its system.

Shares of Vasomedical rose $1.29 to change hands for $2.45 in after-hours trade. It was one of the most active stocks being traded on Inet.

The Nasdaq-100 After Hours indicator, which tracks late trade in technology stocks, was down 0.29 points, or 0.09 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.32%
ended the session up 63.41 points, or 0.6 percent, at 10,592.44, and the Nasdaq Composite
$COMPQ
closed at 2,100.25, up 22.57 points, or 1.1 percent. See Market Snapshot.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.